Rail-joint.



PATENTED FEB. 14, 1905.

No. 782,399. v

0. KOFSKB.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED DBOJ, 1904.

UNITED STATES Patented February 14, 1905.

CHARLES KOFSKE, OF ELBERON, IOWA.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 782,399, dated February 14, 1905.

Application filed December 1, 1904- Serial No. 235,101.

To rrZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I. CHARLES KoFsKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elberon, in the county of Tama and State of Iowa. have in vented certain-new and useful Improvements in'Rail-Joints; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in rail-joints; and it consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

The object of my invention is to provide a device of this character whichwill be simple in construction, durable in use, effective in operation, and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

The above and other objects, which will appear as the nature of my invention is better understood, are accomplished by the construction illustrated in the aceompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rail-joint constructed in accordance with my inventio Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the fish-plates or couplingplates removed from the rails.

Referring to the drawings by numeral, 1 and 2 denote the abutting ends of two railwayrails, which are secured upon the usual cross ties 3.

4 and 5 denote my improved fish-plates or coupling-plates, which are secured upon the opposite sides of the ends of the rails by means of bolts 6. These coupling-plates 4 and 5 are similar in construction, and each consists of a straight body portion of angular shape in cross-section and formed upon its outer face with a longitudinally-extending enlargement or strengthening portion 7 The strengthening portion or enlargement 7 is curved longitudinally, its upper face or top being inclined upwardly from each end toward its center, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4:. This curved enlargement 7 projects laterally beyond the body portion of the coupling-plate, which body portion is disposed beneath the head of the rail, as seen in Fig. 3, and not only strengthens the coupling-plate, but also, by reason of its shape, serves as a guard to prevent anything dragging or dependingfrom a car or train from engaging or catching onto said coupling-plate. Owing to the disposition of the body portions of the couplingplates beneath the head of the rail, they will not be engaged by the flanges upon the wheels of the cars. The bolts 6, which pass through alining openings formed in the ends of the rails and in the coupling-plates, are preferably formed with oval-shaped enlargements 8 adjacent to their heads. These enlargements 8 are seated in similarly-shaped sockets 9, formed in the coupling-plate 4, and thereby prevent the bolt from turning when its nut 10 is being applied or removed. The outer low er edges of each of the coupling-plates are formed at suitable intervals with notches or recesses 11, which are adapted to receive the usual spikes 12, which are driven into the cross-ties to secure the said parts to the latter.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extendedexplanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion,

and the minor details of construction may be extending laterally-enlarged strengthening portion, the upper side of which is below the upper edge of the fish-plate and forms reversely-disposed inclined planes rising from the ends to the center of the fish-plate, said my hand in presence of two subscribing Witfish plate being provided with transverse boltnesses. openings which extend also through the said laterally-extended enlargement or strength- CHARLES KOFSKE' 5 ening portion at points below the upper side Witnesses:

of the latter, substantially as described. JOHN KoFsKn,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set OTTO KoFsKE. 

